CD Details

Released: March 2, 1999

Label: Avenue Records

Entertainment Reviews:

Living Blues - 7-8/99, p.96

"...compiles live recordings from 1972, when his sets featured a mix of electric blues and fusion - some of which has aged well...and some of which proves that Ford is a much better guitarist than saxophonist..."

Product Description:

Recorded live at the Ash Grove, Hollywood, California; the Golden Bear, Huntington Beach, California; and The Marquee Club, London, England in 1972. Includes liner notes by Joseph F. Laredo.

It's ironic that some of the people who swear up and down that they don't like jazz will get into Robben Ford, whose career has as much to do with jazz as it does with blues, pop, soul and rock. Though Ford was never a "jazz snob," his jazz credentials are quite solid. Jazz, blues and rock are all primary ingredients of Sunrise, a CD that was released in 1999 and contains live performances at Los Angeles and London venues in 1972. Back then, the singer/guitarist was in his early twenties and hadn't yet become famous, but those who were hip to Ford knew that he was a unique young talent who had considerable promise. This unpredictable and highly enjoyable collection ranges from the hardcore instrumental jazz of Miles Davis' "Eighty One" (which finds Ford playing the sax) and jazz-rock fusion of "Miss Miss" to spirited performances of Willie Dixon's "Little Red Rooster" and Peter Chatman's "Every Day I Have the Blues." The latter finds Ford performing a vocal duet with blues singer Jimmy Witherspoon, who is the only vocalist on "Ain't Nobody's Business." The late Witherspoon thought the world of Ford, and it's easy to see why they got along so well -- like Ford, Witherspoon was an eclectic, unpredictable artist who held jazz and the blues in equally high regard. Whether you're into jazz, blues or rock -- or all of the above -- Sunrise is a CD to savor. ~ Alex Henderson